A Muslim Perspective

Some good background for discussion.

ISLAM-OPED: POLITICS, NOT FAITH, BEHIND SHIA-SUNNI DIVIDE IN IRAQ

By Parvez Ahmed

[Parvez Ahmed is board chairman of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group. He may be contacted at pahmed@cair.com.]

Almost daily, we hear distressing stories of sectarian violence in Iraq. This has caused many Americans to realize that Islam, like other religions, is not a monolithic faith.

With more than 1.2 billion followers worldwide, Islam naturally encompasses tremendous diversity in its followers. Islam guides its faithful to seek peace, justice and unity, yet Muslims have periodically failed to live up to these foundational teachings.

The current divisions in Iraq stem from an ancient feud, but are not caused by any profound theological differences. The historical context was always political and, despite severe disagreements in the past, the conflict never assumed the characteristics it displays today in Iraq: viciousness, indiscriminate killing, and complete disregard for human life.

Understanding what is happening in today’s Iraq requires a journey into the past.

On Prophet Muhammad's death in 632, his close companion Abu Bakr was elected as the next head of the Islamic state.

Abu Bakr assumed the title "khalifa" meaning the "successor to or representative of the messenger of God." The English word is “caliph,” and thus historically the Islamic state has also been described as a caliphate or "khilafa."

A minority felt that the caliphate should pass down only to Muhammad’s direct descendants via Fatima, his daughter, and her husband Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was also Muhammad’s cousin.

Ali did later become the fourth khalifa, but faced political opposition almost immediately, sometimes from other relatives of Prophet Muhammad, like the Prophet’s wife Aisha.

Tragically, Ali was assassinated by one of his own men who felt that he was too lenient in dealing with Muawiya, the governor of Syria who had refused Ali’s leadership. On Ali’s death, Muawiya assumed the title of caliph.

Ali's younger son Hussein agreed not to oppose Caliph Muawiya. However, when Muawiya died in 680, his son Yazid usurped the caliphate. Hussein led an army against Yazid but was outnumbered. Hussein and his men were slaughtered at the Battle of Karbala, in modern-day Iraq.

These events divided Islam politically between the party of Ali (Shia-tul-Ali or “Shia”) and the majority who came to be known as “Sunni” (from the Arabic sunnah, meaning the traditional way).

Despite this history of political differences, Sunni and Shia Muslims agree on the fundamentals of Islam. Islamic scholars on both sides have declared the legitimacy of each other’s traditions and systems of jurisprudence.

For example, Al Azhar University, considered the most august seat of learning in Islam and the oldest university in the world, issued a fatwa (legal opinion) in 1959 recognizing the legitimacy of Shia jurisprudence. Al Azhar University, though now Sunni, was founded by the Shia Fatimid dynasty in 969.

Given all that is happening in Iraq and the distressing possibility of this conflict widening to other regions, it is a duty of Muslim leaders and scholars worldwide to call upon all Muslims to focus on the shared values and beliefs of Shia and Sunni Muslims.

Muslims must unequivocally condemn this sectarian conflict and thwart efforts by extremists to sow sectarian discord. Demonizing people of other schools of thought, traditions, ethnicities, or faiths is strictly prohibited in Islamic jurisprudence.

American Muslims leaders are keenly aware of the volatility of the situation in Iraq and are resolved not to let the sectarian violence spill over into the U.S. They are also making efforts towards reconciling the warring factions in Iraq, which they hope will enable an expedited and orderly withdrawal of U.S. troops from the region.

Looking to an example in the past might also provide a solution to the current divisions in Iraq. The Prophet Muhammad, like some other prophets (David and Solomon), was not only a spiritual leader but also a head of state. When establishing the Islamic state in Medina, he drafted a constitution known as the Charter of Medina, whose many signatories included several Jewish tribes.

The Charter of Medina has been described by contemporary legal scholars as an early exercise in federalism: each tribe retained its own religious and ethnic identity while joining to defend the state against external aggression. The Charter also established protocols for peaceful resolution of conflicts without prescribing assimilation into one religion, language or culture.

Politics, not differences in faith, divide Iraq. Yet a political solution grounded in Islamic traditions can help bring peace.

It is our fervent hope that the Bush Administration and the U.S. Congress will reach out and enlist the help of American Muslims in developing a political reality that achieves lasting peace in the region.